


Crystal Clear

by rosesiris2020



Series: Petals for Armour [2]
Category: Bandom, Paramore
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24153415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesiris2020/pseuds/rosesiris2020
Summary: "my favorite was one he never recorded called “Friends or Lovers”. it is one of the most meaningful songs in my whole life. one day, i walked into the studio where Taylor was working on a love song of my own (“Crystal Clear”), he pressed play and i heard my Grandat’s voice, singing his song over mine. i have yet to get over the sweetness of that full circle moment in my life. it is a moment that will forever stay with me and will live on through whoever listens"Based on the story behind the outro of 'Crystal Clear' by Hayley Williams.
Relationships: Hayley Williams/Taylor York
Series: Petals for Armour [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731733
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Crystal Clear

**Author's Note:**

> hello again! I got bored today and decided to try and write out the idea I had in my head. I'm sure we've all seen Hayley's post on Instagram several times, and that's what inspired this story!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you have any other ideas of stuff to write about!

They’d been sat in comfortable silence for around ten minutes now, only the occasional sound of keyboard clicking or fingers tapping on the desk to fill the room. 

Hayley had very little work to do on the song today, they’d laid down her vocals and the lyrics were finalised so she was really just sat in the studio to be near Taylor and keep him company whilst he worked. She used the time to get up to date on answering emails for the hair company’s new line of products with Brian and occasionally scrolling through Instagram to check up on friends. In her peripheral, she could see Taylor’s head bobbing to whatever beat he was working on, and she smiled at his dorky obsession with music production that kept him entertained for hours on end. 

Another ten minutes passed before she realised that she had a lunch meeting with Lindsey to discuss some of the visual imagery she wanted for the album. Realistically, the lunch was likely to be around ninety per cent chatting rather than actual work, but that’s what made the process of making an album like she had so fun. She surrounded herself with her most trusted people to keep her sane and comfortable with this new territory. 

Hayley sat up from her lying position on the sofa and started to gather the things she needed for the meeting so she could shove them in her bag. After getting herself more organised and straightened out she stood up and approached where Taylor sat at the desk. 

He liked to work with the headphones turned up loud and was typically very focused on just the music so she had to lightly squeeze his shoulder to avoid scaring him. He jumped slightly but pulled off his headphones and glanced up at her quickly from where she stood behind his chair. 

“Hey you heading out?” he asked distractedly, still focused on the music. He reached his hand around the back of his chair to rub the outside of her leg absentmindedly. 

“Yeah, I’m already running late to see Lindsey but I’ll be back later. Do we have everything we need for tonight?” she asked, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.

He hummed and nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. She could never be offended by his seeming lack of interest in what she was saying when he was working, it was just his focus was switched to music right now and after five albums she found this to be one of his most endearing quirks. 

“Okay cool, I’ll see you in a bit then,” she said, and he squeezed her knee in acknowledgement. 

“Hey, give me a proper goodbye,” she teased and grabbed his chin to tilt his head backwards. She leaned in to peck him and rub his chest, before returning for another a second later after he smiled goofily at her affection. 

She chuckled and tilted his head back to the screen before slapping his shoulder good-naturedly. 

“I want a chart-topper when I get back, York!” she called as she walked out the door, and grinned as she heard a faint ‘of course Hunny’ yelled back to her. 

She trusted him with whatever he wanted to do with the record whilst she was gone, she knew his taste was good and that the song meant as much to him as it did to her. It had been slightly awkward to sing the lyrics to him the first time, aware of what she was declaring but his sweet smile that she only ever saw when they were in private confirmed her that this song was more than just a song on the album to them. It was a declaration of her intentions for the future and how she was willing to approach it. They had had issues in the past that stemmed from Hayley’s previous relationships and the effect this had on her attitude to giving and receiving love. But this song was a statement, and whether people understood it, the only two people who mattered knew exactly what it meant. 

After the months and years of what they had gone through, the declaration of the song meant a lot to Taylor personally, and she knew that any production he added to it would be chosen with love and added with meticulous care. 

—

The meeting with Lindsey had run over late, but no one who knew either of them would have been particularly shocked. Hayley usually had ten minute periods built into her schedule to account for her lateness but today she had no other plans except to pick up her grandparents later so she was no rush to leave the restaurant. 

They had gotten the work portion out of the way quickly and dissolved into a chat between close friends within for the majority of lunch. Lindsey has awed at the news that Taylor was making dinner for her and her grandparents tonight. She knew that her friends were happy for them and their relationship and openly supported them throughout. She mused about how this must be a nice change from how it had been a few years ago when practically everyone in her life had subtly tried to sway her from making more bad decisions in her last relationship.

After twenty more minutes of chatting after the food had been removed from the table, she noticed the subtle signs from the waiters that they need to start getting ready to leave the table, so Hayley called for the check and charged it to the label. The best part of working with friends was treating them to things that she could justify as expenses. 

She had enough time to run home and change into something nicer, having left Taylor’s house in casual clothes that she had taken to leaving there. Dinner with her grandparents wasn’t the time to be dressed in jeans and her boyfriend’s jumper. 

After locating the new simple dress she had ordered online in her wardrobe, she quickly set about sorting her hair and reapplying some makeup. Nothing particularly radical but she knew everyone involved would enjoy the sight. Alf had stayed the night with her at Taylor’s so the house was silent and it was slightly odd to be alone in her house without his constant company. She missed his puppy dog face whenever she was home without him, so she rushed about to find the things she needed for tonight so she could leave sooner. After filling her bag with another change of clothes and a spare bag of dog food, she located her car keys so she could get back on the road.

Her grandparents didn’t live that far from her so the drive there was easy. They had played such a constant and important role throughout her entire life that she was sure she could probably find her way to their house with a blindfold on. Taking them to dinner at Taylor’s place was another way to demonstrate the strength of their relationship to the people most important to her. It also helped that her grandparents loved him and that sometimes when she watched them interact, it made her heart feel like it could burst.

Once she had arrived at their house, it didn’t take long to get back on the road after their initial greetings. Her relationship with them was so familiar that she could jokingly hurry them along, and they understood that she really just wanted to get them back to her boyfriend’s house. The journey was filled by chatter about the current work on her album which she knew they were desperate to hear. It had already taken lengthy discussions to convince them that it was better to wait for the final product until they were allowed to listen. She knew they would be proud of anything she showed them, but this album meant so much that she needed it to be perfect before she could show it to anyone who didn’t work in the studio.

It only took five minutes to drive to Taylor’s and she helped them out once they arrived. She had a key to the house, but she’d left it inside when she left so she just had to hope Taylor wasn’t still stuck in the studio with headphones on.

She rang the doorbell twice and only had to wait a few moments before the sound of scampering and footsteps approached the door. She was immediately greeted by Alf launching himself at her legs and so she bent down to pat him before she looked up and smiled at her boyfriend who beamed back.

“Hello there!” he grinned, before pulling Alf back so the doorway was free.

Hayley smiled softly as she watched him greet her grandparents, her Granny clearly charmed by the welcome hug he gave her, and her Grandat grinned as they exchanged handshakes. She encouraged them to follow Alf back into the kitchen as he scampered off and leaned in to greet Taylor properly. She appreciated the shirt he had put on for the evening, and noticed the ever-present beanie had disappeared for the night. She honestly didn’t mind the hat but his curls were starting to grow back in and something about the sight of them made her stomach twist in the best way.

The food had been prepared earlier so the dinner went off without a hitch. Alf had fallen asleep in front of the fire Taylor had lit in the fireplace so they were left undisturbed for the majority of the meal. Sometime during the desert, Taylor placed his arm around the back of her chair as he chatted about his niece with her Granny, and she couldn’t help but grin at the scene in front of her. All her favourite people in one room. A few years ago she wouldn’t have believed this scene of love and domesticity would have been possible for her anymore so she couldn’t help but relax, enjoy and appreciate what a special moment this was for her.

After the table had been cleared and Hayley and Taylor began to start washing the plates, they left her grandparents to relax in the living room before Hayley would take them back home. They bumped hips a few times at the sink as they grinned to each other. Tonight had been a perfect success.

“Hey,” said Hayley softly as she reached out a sudsy hand to touch his arm, “thank you for tonight, I think they had a great time.”

Taylor smiled at her words and bumped her hip once more.

“Well, I love hanging out with them so it was no problem, we can do it more often if you want.”

She grinned at him again before pausing to appreciate how lucky she was to wind up with such a caring guy in her life. It might have taken a long time, but it was worth the wait.

They continued cleaning in silence for a few more minutes after that before they heard the beginning notes of a song being played on the piano. Hayley immediately recognised what her Grandat was playing and smiled warmly at the sounds of her favourite song. They cleaned for another moment, listening to the song before Taylor grabbed his phone and walked over to her.

“I’ll be back in one minute,” he said quietly and kissed her head before he left.

She watched him leave to do whatever it was he needed to do, before grabbing a cloth to wipe down the surfaces and settled in to listen to the sound of the song her Grandat wrote for her Granny all those years ago.

\--

It was a few days after the meal with her grandparents when she learnt what Taylor had been doing that evening when he left mid-song.

She had entered his studio to inform him that dinner would be ready in five minutes when he mentioned for her to join him.

He reached out and pulled her onto his lap where he sat by the mixing desk before explaining what was happening.

“So I was working on the end section of ‘Crystal Clear’ and I had a new idea for the outro,” he said, rested his chin on her shoulder so he could see the monitor. “If you don’t like it then I don’t mind but it’s just an idea I had, thought we could try it out.”

She could sense his hesitancy so she squeezed his arm where it was draped around her waist and encouraged him to play the song.

They sat in silence whilst the last section of the song played through the speakers. It sounded great but Hayley couldn’t hear much difference to the last time she had heard it. He could sense her confusion and laughed softly.

“Keep listening, you’ll hear it,” he mumbled.

She did as he said and listened for any change. The song was approaching the end when he tapped her hip to signal that the change was about to play. She listened carefully until she realised what it was.

She felt herself stiffen slightly as her jaw dropped open, her brain trying to process what was happening. She recognised the voice immediately and whipped her head around to Taylor who grinned softly.

She waited for the song to end before she hit pause.

“Oh my god,” she said, still in shock.

“Do you like it?” he said, wincing slightly at her unreadable expression.

She stared at him again, trying to process how he had managed to get her Grandat’s song mixed into hers.

He clearly read the confused expression on her face as he pulled her closer and began to explain.

“When your Grandat was playing on my piano the other day, I heard the lyrics and thought they made complete sense to this song. I recorded him so I could sample it and surprise you,” he explained, “if you don’t want to include it, that’s completely fine, it was just something I wanted to try. I guess I just thought the meaning of the song fits with this one and it'd be a nice thing for you and your Grandat.”

He trailed off at the end and it was only then that Hayley realised she had yet to express anything other than her shock to him.

She grabbed his face and angled it to her. Words weren’t really working for her so she tried to express her gratitude through a kiss as she stroked his face. He clearly understood as he pulled her closer and brought his hands up to the back of her neck to keep her in place.

After a few minutes, she pulled away but kept her hands on his face, still stroking the soft skin of his cheek.

“It’s perfect Taylor,” she whispered softly whilst looking him in the eyes, “I honestly don’t think anyone has ever surprised me with something like this.” She tried to convey just how sincere she was, and how moving the gift was.

“So you like it?”, he whispered back, a relieved smile taking over his face.

She nodded and kissed him once more.

“I love it,” she said simply, not sure how else she could express what this moment meant to her, “and I love you.”

He grinned at her words and leaned in to return the sentiment.

“Well I still need to work on it some more first, but now comes the good part!” he teased.

She tilted her head, confused at what he was implying.

“Someone’s got to inform Grandat he’s going to be a featuring artist on a major label solo album,” he joked, mock-serious as he waggled his brows at her.

She rolled her eyes at his joke but kissed him again, appreciative of everything in her life at this very moment.


End file.
